1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to display devices. More specifically, the invention describes a multi-function display controller for LCD displays implemented as a single integrated circuit.
2. Overview
LCD displays such as those used on portable, wireless communication devices, digital TVs, and the like are arranged in an x-y grid that is formed by an array of the rows and columns. The arrangement of such segments is done to greatly reduce the number of external connections and increase potential display density. LCD controllers are used to control the operation of the LCD display and supply the display drivers with data. There are many different configurations of LCD controllers in existence. Currently, most LCD controllers require pixel-based graphical data to be fetched from a memory circuit in a repetitive and cyclical fashion. In fetching the pixel-based graphical data, enough data for the whole display is retrieved. Furthermore, to prevent flickering of the LCD display, the data must be provided to the LCD display by the LCD controller and refreshed at a predetermined, recommended rate.
Although well suited to actually perform the above described control functions, currently configured LCD controllers rely on other circuits to perform non-LCD control functions such as Frame Rate Conversion (FRC), motion compensation, etc. thereby greatly increasing the cost and complexity of implementing these various non-control yet essential ancillary display support functions.
Therefore, what is desired is a single integrated circuit arranged to perform LCD control functions as well as ancillary support functions.